Our innovative founder, Emily Campbell, is an avid "foodie" and began working toward opening a scalable, brandable business that could serve people bold, innovative dishes and have an impact through its charitable giving. That vision has culminated in the launch of Brooklyn Chow.

Chef Emily began experimenting with higher-level cooking over the last 20 years, infusing the best of the influences from her extensive travels abroad into her American cuisine. Born and raised in the South, Chef Emily was fortunate not to grow up on a steady diet of fried everything, having been reared with more healthy-eating values. Upon moving to New York in 1992, Chef Emily sought to eat at some of New York's best restaurants, seeing the influence that the chefs in those multi-star restaurants have and recognizing that their choices often were undeniably desirable. The combinations of flavors, the pairings of mains and sides, the choices made by these chefs left her with the lasting impression that chef-designed is the way to innovate, and coming to the table with an open mind more often than not resulted in a novel and rewarding culinary experience.

Chef Emily believes that her love of great tasting food is in her genes, as her grandfather was a successful entrepreneur/restaurateur. Grandpa Herbert, who immigrated from Hungary at the turn of the last century, was the founder of Herbert's Grill, a beloved diner-style restaurant that operated for many years in Montgomery, Alabama. He went on to operate several other restaurants, including sandwich shoppe.

"People are touched by food. They often remember what they were eating and with whom, and people have happy memories associated with many foods that they come back to enjoy again and again," Chef Emily remarks. "I have a couple of foods that evoke strong feelings of happiness -- the tuna fish sandwiches my Mom and I would get after she picked me up from school when I was in second grade, and the pizza we used to eat at the mall, around the same time. Similarly, every time I eat boiled peanuts, I think of sitting in my favorite green winged back chair watching TV before I had to do my homework. Egg salad sandwiches make me think of the times my Mom and I would drive back from Upstate New York in more recent years and stop at a gazebo or in one of the parks along the scenic route and just take in a bit of Nature. I have foods associated with other family, dear friends and romance, all of which evoke happy times. I hope to be able to deliver the kind of food that will be attached to our customer's good times, as I am truly a 'happiness junkie' and through Brooklyn Chow, I hope to be able to bring happiness to many people."

Chef Emily is a serial entrepreneur and well-regarded business attorney. She is an avid fan of Food Network and collects cookbooks, which she enjoys reading and tagging with recipes that she wants to try or from which she wants to take influences. "Following a recipe verbatim is of little interest to me when I am developing a recipe for Brooklyn Chow," said Chef Emily. "I like to be spontaneous when I am first creating the dish. Once I am satisfied that the flavors are well-balanced and that the textures are pleasing, then I systematize so the skilled staff can prepare it for customers. I go from sharing what I have created to having the team able to recreate it again for the customer. Customers want reliability when they come back to Brooklyn Chow to be served their favorites again and again, and through simplicity and consistency, we deliver what the customer wants."

Chef Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mercer University. She also holds her law degree, as well as her masters and doctorate from the University of Nebraska.